Tax Credits for Families

Information applies to tax year 2024.

Download Information

Child Tax Credit (Age 0-16)

Maximum Credit

The maximum credit is $2,000 per qualifying child who is under the age of 17 as of the end of the year.

Maximum Refundable Credit

The maximum refundable credit (Additional Child Tax Credit) is $1,700 per qualifying child.

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Phaseout

The $2,000 credit is reduced by $50 for each $1,000 of modified AGI above:

$400,000 Married Filing Jointly.
$200,000 Single, Head of Household, Qualifying Surviving Spouse, or Married Filing Separately.

Credit for Other Dependents (Age 17+)

A nonrefundable credit of up to $500 is allowed for each dependent that is not a qualifying child for the Child Tax Credit. The same AGI phaseout that applies to the Child Tax Credit, above, applies for the Credit for Other Dependents.

Child and Dependent Care Credit (Daycare Credit)

Credit

The credit is 20% to 35% of the smallest of:

$3,000 ($6,000 for two or more qualifying persons).
Qualified expenses incurred and paid during the year.
Include expenses for care in 2025 that were paid before 2025. Reduce expenses by dependent care benefits excluded from income.
Your earned income.
Your spouse’s earned income.

Exclusion

You may be eligible to exclude up to $5,000 from your income for dependent care benefits under an employer plan regardless of the number of qualifying persons. Any amount excluded reduces the amount eligible for the credit.

Example: George and Mary have three children who qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Cred-it. George has elected to have $5,000 excluded from his wages. They paid $9,000 in 2025 for dependent care. The maximum that they can use towards the credit is $1,000 ($6,000 less the $5,000 that was excluded from George’s wages).

Expenses

Qualified

Care outside your home for a qualifying person who regularly spends at least eight hours each day in your home.
Amounts paid for items other than care (food and schooling) if they are incidental to the care and cannot be separated from the total cost.
Before and after school care.
Household services, including cooks, maids, babysitters, or cleaners, if services were partly for the care of a qualifying person.
Employment taxes, meals, and extra lodging expenses for household employees.
Day camps and similar pro-grams even if they specialize in a particular activity.
Transportation provided by a childcare provider to or from a place that care is provided.

Not Qualified

Schooling for a child in kindergarten or above. This includes costs paid for a full day of kindergarten at a private school in a district where public schools have half-day classes.
Cost of an overnight camp.
Expenses reimbursed by a state social service agency not included in income.
Child support payments.
Transportation of the care provider and transportation of a qualifying person not provided by a childcare provider.

Adoption Credit

Credit and Exclusion Amount

A taxpayer can claim a credit of up to $17,280 and also exclude up to $17,280 of employer- provided benefits from income for expenses of adopting an eligible child. The same qualifying expenses cannot be used for both. Limits apply to the total spent over all years for each effort to adopt an eligible child. Unmarried persons who adopt a child can divide each limit in any way they agree.

Phaseout

The adoption credit and exclusion phase out with income between $259,190 and $299,190.

Eligible Child

A child under age 18 or a person who is physically or mentally unable to care for themselves.

Qualified Expenses Include:

Adoption fees.
Attorney fees.
Court costs.
Travel expenses, meals and lodging, while away from home.
Re-adoption in state court.

Nonqualified Expenses Include Expenses:

To adopt a spouse’s child.
For surrogate parenting.
Paid or reimbursed by employer, governmental agency or other.
Allowed as a credit or deduction under another tax provision.

This page contains general information for taxpayers and should not be relied upon as the only source of authority. Taxpayers should seek professional tax advice for more information.